by Pal, J
Damn it. I should’ve made a mobility device for her.
“Anna, can you carry Caitlin?” I asked.
“No,” both women replied in unison.
“I can increase my strength and speed, but carrying someone results in an awkward load,” Anna explained.
“Then you two go on ahead. I’m going to hang back and buy us some time,” I said.
“Are you sure about this?” Caitlin asked. “You can’t possibly stand up to that many people together.”
“We don’t have much of a choice if you can’t run—”
“We can contact Jay through the comms! He’ll come and get us.”
“You do that, Caitlin, but it will take him a few minutes to get here,” I told her. “You two keep on going. I’ll try to slow them down. Can you turn all your available drones into wire traps?”
Caitlin nodded and squeezed a button on her breastplate. A panel on her back opened up and six biometal spheres dropped out of it. She looked at me hesitantly for a moment before Anna grabbed her hand and pulled her away.
I didn’t wait to watch them leave and got to work straight away. The centipede-people weren’t far behind us. I could hear their boots on the concrete and listen to them yell at one another in German. We had parted ways at a point where two alleys crossed each other: perfect for an ambush. I planted a biometal sphere just above eye level on each corner. Then I planted four more close together around my exit route. Two sat at ground level, and I intended to place two higher up but struggled to reach my target. Winnie surprised me then. I had forgotten about the bear golem during the escape. He used his stretchy arms to place the spheres just where I needed them.
“Why have you stopped moving, Matt?” Liam’s voice spoke in my ear. “Head back to the Hub! With the new turrets and ankylopus backing us up, these things won’t have a chance!”
I activated the lab coat’s camouflage function and held my tongue. My plan wouldn’t work without the element of surprise. Staying low helped conceal the prosthetic’s glow as it switched to the Charge Launcher mode and powered up. I held my breath as the weapon hummed to life.
The centipede-people turned the corner and didn’t slow. The fire-wielder wasn’t among them. I guessed he was still busy trying to free the others from the trap—or he could be trying to flank the others. Either way, there was nothing I could do about it now. Putting them down would be much easier without having to worry about insane temperatures.
As soon as they reached the intersection, the spheres exploded, firing biometal wires. They contacted flesh and embedded themselves in the walls and floor, trapping four of attackers while the other two paused to pull them free. I fired projectiles from the Charge Launcher one after another, as fast as the weapon would allow. They exploded on contact, showering the buggers with arcing bolts of electricity.
The centipede-people screamed. They shook violently as the energy coursed through their bodies, locking them in an ugly rictus and burning their skin. One of them melted into a pool of sludge before squelching their way out of the nasty mess. I didn’t stick around much longer to watch the mess. Considering the noise they were making, their friends would come to their rescue. I didn’t care whether they lived or died, so I fired another ball of electricity before running. The hosts were already dead, after all. It was the centipedes we were fighting.
My heart dropped when I turned the corner. Arjan, the fire-wielder, stood in my path. Fortunately, the bastard had his back to me. Black smoke rose from his glowing, orange skin. The sound of his screaming comrades didn’t bother Arjan. It was stupid of me to think he’d be helping his friends. He was probably trying to flank us instead. I struggled to get my breathing under control when he looked back at me. The lab coat kept me hidden, but it didn’t block sound yet. The same went with the Pogo Heelies. It cancelled out noise from walking and jumping, but I needed the jump function to get away from him. That was far too noisy, though, so I wasn’t sure what to do.
Arjan took a step towards me, and I tried my best to become one with the dumpster’s shadow. His eyes weren’t focused on me. The arsehole was looking past me at the alley with his screaming friends. They sounded weak. I hope my attack had fried the centipedes.
There was no getting away unnoticed. If I jumped now, he’d go on the offensive and attack. I had the element of surprise, and I needed to make the most of it. Arjan froze when my prosthetic switched to the Sonic Shotgun. Fortunately, the hum confused Arjan more than put him on edge. I fired the Sonic Shotgun and activated my Sonic Barrier Projector simultaneously. The latter had been a safety precaution but saved my skin. Flames burst from Arjan when my attack hit him. They washed over the barrier, far from my body, but I still felt the blistering heat.
Arjan’s body flew backwards, hitting the alley’s opposite wall, cracking brick and mortar. He didn’t collapse but lay stunned for a moment before stirring. I didn’t waste any more time and activated my Pogo Wheelies, launching myself to the nearest roofs. Arjan let loose a loud guttural scream from below, and flames burst from his feet. His jump carried him most of the way to my position. He had to catch himself on the wall below, digging his fingers into bricks cracking from the heat.
A part of me wanted to stand my ground and take him on. My weapons hurt him. That little morsel of knowledge egged me on to take the risk, but after some thought, I decided against it. I changed my weapon mode to Charge Launcher, fired a shot, and then leapt to the next roof. If Arjan wanted to kill me, he’d have to work for it.
Much to my disappointment, Arjan’s power gave him mobility too. When we’d first encountered the monstrous individual, he had used fire to propel himself forward a short distance. I hadn’t expected it to give him bursts of vertical movement as well. Once at the edge of a rooftop, he pointed his hands downwards, fire bursting from his palms and shoeless feet. They launched him in a diagonal and then Arjan used secondary blasts to right himself.
Fortunately, the Pogo Heelies and Grappling Belt gave me greater speed and control. It didn’t take too much effort for me to stay ahead of him. The Pogo Heelies’ ability to use absorbed kinetic energy to recharge meant they could keep me going indefinitely. Now it came down to stamina—who would run out of breath first? Me or Arjan?
If not for the giant metal centipede running down the former human’s spine, I’d bet on me coming out on top. Arjan’s flame-covered body most likely burned ambient oxygen, making it harder for him to breath. All powers came with limitations and weaknesses. That had to be his.
I paused when I heard a thud and pebbles scatter. Arjan had landed poorly on a gravelly roof and fallen on his front. Unwillingly to miss the opportunity, I raised the Charge Launcher, took aim, and shot two projectiles. Arjan jumped onto his feet and dodged the first. After watching him follow me, I had guessed his favored side and released the second sphere of electricity a couple of degrees to the right. He moved into its path and received an explosion of electricity for his efforts. Arjan screamed, falling onto his hands and knees. The centipede on his back wriggled and screeched. He opened his mouth, and a pair of long but skinny creatures slithered out.
“Oh, shit!” I swore. The smaller centipedes zipped across the rooftop and jumped to the next building. I relaxed for a moment when they missed the roof, but seconds later they were crawling over the edge. “I’m going to need backup or a pick-up, Liam.” The commslink buzzed as I spoke into it. “I had to buy time for Caitlin. Now Arjan is on my trail.”
The Pogo Heelies propelled me to the next building. I kept moving, using the wheels to speed across the concrete, and then leapt to the next. Arjan recovered surprisingly quick, continuing his pursuit. The centipedes had disappeared from sight, though, and it worried me.
“None of my drones will be much good against him,” Liam replied. “Caitlin and Anna ran into a trap. They’re not too badly hurt, but Jay is busy taking them back to the Hub. We are fighting a tail of our own while on the move. If you can rendezvous with us, great, or you ca
n continue on your current route.”
The sound of skittering on the roof behind me interrupted my train of thought. I looked over my shoulder to see Arjan throwing the second bimetal-coated creature at me. It flew through that air in a tight ball, unfurling as it got close. I dropped a boomjuice drone at my feet before moving to the next rooftop. The sphere exploded just as the monster landed where I had been standing. The blast didn’t just catch my target, but it did hit the other one crawling after me.
Arjan roared, continuing his pursuit. He launched a fireball at my landing spot, but my belt helped change my trajectory. I would’ve met my end some time ago if I’d stayed at ground-level. Lone and attached centipedes would undoubtedly have set traps to catch me off guard.
As I wove my way through a cluster of factories, the Hub came into sight. If Arjan weren’t chasing me, I would’ve made my way directly home using the streets. Unfortunately, I needed to keep my route unpredictable to avoid his projectiles while ensuring the next building had easy-to-reach roofs around it. Anna and Caitlin were safe, at least. Not having to worry about others made everything easier.
A double ping from Liam highlighted the map overlay on the right side of my goggles’ screen. Much to my surprise, my unplanned route had set me on a collision course with him and Kitty. It was then I realized—Winnie had been guiding me towards her all along! The bear golem would pop up from time to time, directing me in seemingly random directions. I had assumed he was helping me avoid Arjan’s friends, but he had done something better.
The sound of Liam’s gun drone and David’s cannon helped me set my bearing. I peeked over my shoulder—Arjan had somewhat caught up when I paused to check the map. Instead of descending to the lower roof directly in front of me, I launched myself at the skyscraper to its left. The Pogo Heelies gave me more height than Arjan’s jump, but they didn’t carry me to the roof. I hooked onto the building with my belt and stabilized my position.
A manic smile spread across Arjan’s face as he ran at me. The bastard wasn’t going to give up. The centipedes had absorbed their hosts’ intelligence, but they still behaved like crazed beasts on the hunt when angered. I remembered how Helena had attacked Anna. In her final moments, there hadn’t been anything human about her. That’s precisely what I was expecting. As soon as Arjan jumped, I fired the ready Charge Launcher. His flame bursts gave him the ability to change trajectory mid-air, but we were much too close to one another.
The projectile made contact and exploded. The arcing bolts of electricity were so close that they almost hit me too. I didn’t stick around and pushed off my hanging spot, moving to my previously-intended building’s roof. Arjan screamed behind me as he fell to the ground. It didn’t matter—Liam and the others were so close that I could hear Diesel’s giant feet thudding on the ground.
Then my heart dropped. The spike-wielder was waiting for me. He launched a trio of spikes, and I stopped them with the Sonic Barrier Projector. More of Arjan’s cronies climbed onto the roof behind him. This wasn’t going to be easy.
My new opponents blocked my only exit. Arjan would recover any second now, so finding a new route was no longer an option. According to the map overlay, I’d need to weave through a block of apartment buildings before reaching my friends. As a result, I had no choice but to engage.
Before starting my offense, I sent out a double ping. There was no telling whether Spikey and his friends had been fighting Liam or not. If they were, then Kitty and her golems had fewer arseholes to deal with and could spare me some manpower. It didn’t matter now though. The situation was dire, and I’d have to fight my way out of it.
Instead of backpedaling across the roof, I tried to stay as far from Arjan as possible. A diagonal route took me back towards the skyscraper. The high ground had proven its advantages once already. I’d have to be stupid not to utilize it again.
Much to my disappointment, a fat centipede crawled over the ledge, blocking my path. I didn’t slow down, and fired the Charge Launcher. The creature proved much smarter than the skinnier members of its species and zipped to the side, avoiding the attack. Footsteps thumped on the rooftop behind me as Spikey and the others gave chase. I blindly shot at them over my shoulder, intending to deter their chase.
The centipede regained its focus and leapt at me again. My weapon needed a second to power up again between shots, so I activated the Sonic Barrier Projector and Pogo Wheelies simultaneously. The first blocked the centipedes’ assault, and the latter propelled me away from the roof. A trio of well-aimed spikes came flying at me. The first two bounced off the transparent shield, but the third pierced it and grazed my left calf. Cracks spiderwebbed from the point of impact, and I deactivated the barrier straight away. The final projectile had drained most of the device’s bar. I needed to give it a few minutes to recharge, or I’d be screwed when shit hit the fan.
When the building I had landed on shook, I didn’t bother looking over my shoulder. The monsters had taken control of incredibly destructive individuals. I didn’t waste any more time checking on my pursuers, and moved onto the next building.
“I’m coming to you,” I said into the comms. The latest events had made my breathing ragged, and I was starting to see spots. “Arjan and three of his friends are on my tail. Probably not the best idea if I engage them alone.”
“Good,” Kitty replied, her voice sounding strained. “We could do with some healing. Unfortunately, Morpheus has suffered too much damage, and the injection launchers aren’t functioning.”
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, ducking as spikes and fireballs flew past me. Arjan had rejoined the fight. “How many people do they have?”
“It’s not just people,” Kitty answered. “This lot haven’t just been using auranthers to harvest metal but have elites under their control as well.”
“Damn.” It was probably for the best we’d taken down the platyhawks. I’d considered them a bigger threat since they weren’t nocturnal and ground bound. I guessed the bone-plating and biometal made the winged monsters unsuitable for the platyhawk’s control. If the centipedes got strong enough to force them into their army, the Hub would struggle to repel them.
An explosion rocked the building I was running across. The Pogo Wheelies’ stabilizers helped me maintain my balance. That had to be an elite auranther. Had the centipedes forced them out of the tunnels? Or did they have a means of communicating with the specimens underground? It didn’t matter. Their tactics weren’t going to work on me.
Pain shot up and down my left leg when I took a step towards the roof’s edge. It was then I felt the warmth running down my calf and pooling in the Pogo Heelies. My knee turned into jelly, and the limb refused to support my weight. Spikey’s spike had bitten deeper into the muscle than I realized. It was a good thing that I collapsed though. Metallic and flaming projectiles shot through where my head had been moments ago.
First, I sprayed the injury with the Gloop Shooter’s healing fluid. It stung and then burned as the skin stitched closed over the damaged flesh. It was more powerful than the medium, but the wound still needed time to heal. Besides, considering the sloshing in my boot, I had lost a fair bit of blood. When I tried to get back on my feet, the limb still wobbled but didn’t give way. Then, before continuing my escape, I dropped the boomjuice drones and spilt sticky gloop all over the roof. They wouldn’t do much good against Arjan, but his friends wouldn’t traverse the ground easily.
“I’ve been hit,” I said, firing the Charge Launcher at my pursuers. They had done me a favor by clumping together. Their snarling faces remained unfazed, and they didn’t try to dodge. Spikey launched pre-prepared projectiles at the sphere of electricity, making it discharge a couple of meters in front of them. “They’re pulling out all the stops. I don’t think I can keep running.”
“Get down to ground level and hold them off as long as you can,” Liam said. “There’s only a couple of buildings between us. Let’s join up and take these assholes out together.”<
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“Roger,” I said, grimacing as I jumped from a five-story height. My right leg and stabilizers would hopefully compensate for the awkward landing. A scream still burst from my lips as soon as I made contact with the ground. I could feel the muscles writhe and rejoin under my skin. They had knotted and were pulling at the tendons around my knee and ankle.
“Was that you?” Kitty asked. The comms weren’t active on my end. “That’s it. I’m coming to you. Miley and Diesel can stay behind to give David back up.”
“Don’t leave them alone—”
“David is the one defending Kitty right now,” Liam said. “You can heal her up, and then we can converge at the next intersection.”
“Fine.” I sighed, forcing myself upright once again and limping towards the old stone church ahead. I couldn’t think of a better place to put up a defense until rescue arrived.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Possibly Final Upgrades
My new hiding spot stood out in the urban jungle of factories, warehouses, and apartment buildings. It simply didn’t belong. I suspected the System had placed it there while rearranging the topography. Come to think of it, I still didn’t know which of the two had rearranged the planet. Was it the System or the Alvans?
It didn’t matter now either way. I was confident the stone building would be the slowest to burn in the neighborhood. Sure, there was a lot of wood in the form of the pews, a grand staircase, and all the other ancient furniture. Arjan would have little trouble setting them ablaze. However, the old stone would take time to heat up, and every extra second of avoiding the flames was a bonus.
I left a trail of sticky gloop as soon as I made my way towards the back of the building. Perhaps the device’s next upgrade would involve adding a slippery fluid to the mix. Something flammable or conductive would combine wonderfully with the Charge Launcher, and it would make up for my horrid aim too. It probably wouldn’t matter once we pumped more resources into the Hub. I looked forward to not having to lift a finger in a fight ever again.